Polar Probings: Sculpture by Gabriel Warren

October 13-December 8, 2011

The Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery will present a number of works by artist Gabriel Warren October 13 through December 8, 2011. Warren's works in this exhibit are layered with meanings and references to the condition of the planet and are based on his close observations of the behavior of ice in its many forms. The show will also include an outdoor sculpture installation adjacent to Cohen Memorial Hall, home of the Fine Arts Gallery. The opening reception for the show will take place on Thursday, October 13, at 5:00 p.m. in the gallery.

Often using natural ice formations as source material, Gabriel Warren creates sculptures that are, in the words of the artist, "intended to reflect the beauty of the natural sources from which they emerge.... They represent my attempts to triangulate an understanding of a single natural phenomenon: ice." Warren also notes "although ice is not the only source in the natural world for my sculptural probings, it is the dominant one and has been so for decades. Ice exhibits mind-numbing variability and variety on a visual plane. From a scientific perspective, understanding its behavior is key to understanding many other components of our world."

Warren received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design, and has studied at the Tyler School of Art, Rome, Italy; Amherst College, Amherst, MA; the Phillips Academy, Andover, MA; and the Externat Notre Dame, Grenoble, France. Dividing his time between his studio and residence in Rhode Island and his summer home in a primitive cabin he built on a sea cliff in Nova Scotia, Warren travels frequently to Antarctica. In1999, he was the recipient of a National Science Foundation "Artists and Writers in Antarctica" grant. His art has been shown at the Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem, MA; Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI; Hunter College, New York, NY; and the Quay School of the Arts, Wanganui, New Zealand, among many other museums and galleries.

The Gabriel Warren exhibition is being presented in conjunction with this year's campuswide initiative on sustainability with support from the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, the Department of English, the College of Arts and Science Dean's Office, and the American Studies Program at Vanderbilt University.